Because dignity is a human right.
My take on them was always that, like two year-olds, they didn't like being told what to do, as in pay your taxes, wear your seat belts and your motorcycle helmet, don't wear your gun, etc.When it comes to telling other people what to do -- Muslims, women, union members, scientists, people of color, and the young -- the more government enforcers there are, the more they like it.
More cops, less food inspectors. Yep.Going to work on the wording of this line though, the whole "nanny state" thing seems to beg a rebuttal that refers to the class line it implicitly draws. In the liberal world there just aren't a lot of nannies; because few people feel compelled to take such work by economic necessity as was traditionally the case.
I've always found Dean Baker's take on this to be spot on:The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get RicherYou can download it for free.